Picture this... It's four o'clock in the evening, the kids just got home from school, the baby is crying, and you realize you forgot to set out anything for supper. There's homework to be done, dishes to be washed so you can eat the nonexistent supper, and somehow, you have to do laundry tonight or the whole family will be forced into nudity tomorrow. Your partner will be home soon and the house is a complete disaster. If any part of this sounds familiar, take a deep breath. I mean it. Take a deep breath. As you slowly exhale, tell all the anxious thoughts to leave your mind. (Don't question me, just try it.) Ok. Great. Now, how are you going to handle this so that it doesn't happen over and over and over again? Maybe you'll make a to-do list. Maybe you'll enlist some help. Maybe you'll plan ahead a little better. Or maybe you'll just promise yourself that you'll do one of the previous. But what happens if none of that works? Then what? Do you find yourself in this vicious cycle of too many things to do and not enough time to do them? Look, I get it. That was me. Heck, if I'm being honest, that's still me more often than I'd like to admit. (Man, life is so hard!) But, on the days and weeks that I'm committed to writing out my schedule, this isn't me. Wanna know my secret? How I keep up with my house duties, keep up with the homework, make the meals I've planned, all while keeping my crap together and my hairs intact.. I schedule my day like a high school student. Say what?! Maybe you've heard of it before. Maybe you haven't. Either way, block scheduling could be your secret to less stress. Of course, I made a printable for you so you don't even have to think about how to go about planning this way. Click HERE and download my free block scheduling template. Then, head on over to my Insta or Facebook to see how I put my schedule to use. It literally takes about five minutes to jot down a schedule, a plan for the day. I never thought I'd be the person who had to write things down in order to get anything done, but here I am, killing it! ...sometimes... Other times I am totally not killing it, but hey, it's all about the balance, right? The good news is that I'm killing it more than I'm not and I totally believe you can, too! This kind of schedule can work for literally anyone. It's a blank page. A chance to adapt it to your life instead of the usual kind where you are expected to adapt to it. Doesn't that sound nice, something that adapts to you and your needs for once? Go ahead, click here to download the template. Head on over to my socials and let me know what you think!
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You won't find me preaching some elaborate budgeting plan to you, ever. Honestly, I wouldn't devote the time to keeping up with a highly detailed budget or keeping track of which envelope should have this cash or that, so I won't preach those methods to you, either. BUT, what I will preach is the importance of a meal plan. Now, just wait a second before you roll your eyes at me, it may be easier than you think. I can just about guarantee it will be more beneficial than you think, IF you stick to it. There's the trick: stick to it. Lucky for you, I've made it more simple. First, get a pen and a piece of paper if you're old fashioned, or open your note taking app on your phone. Yes, now, do it right now. What are you waiting for? Ok, now write or type all of the meals you can think of that you KNOW how to make without recipe searching. If you're anything like me, this list may be super long as I rarely follow specific recipes anyway. That's ok. If you have a short list, that's ok, too. Just make a quick list of meals that your family enjoys regularly. Make sure to keep your list handy, so that you can refer back to it often. Maybe put this on the fridge. Keep it in your planner or journal, or maybe your purse. I don't know, just find somewhere easily accessible. Great, proceed on! Next, I created a pretty meal plan that you just print off and hang in your kitchen. I put mine inside a Dollar Tree 8x10 picture frame and have it hanging on the wall beside our giant calendar. Then I write on it with dry erase markers and simply erase it each week. Some people take an 8x10 frame, attach magnets to the back, and then display their meal plans on the fridge. It's totally up to you and what works best for you. Once you've printed your meal plan, grab your list of trusty meals, and head to your kitchen/pantry. Now, using your list and the food already IN your house, plan a list of meals for the week. There's the catch, using what's already in your house. I also created this handy grocery list for all of you traditional folks. It even has a section where you can write the ingredients you already have in your home. That way, if you take this list to the store, you won't have to try and remember what you have on hand already! BONUS TIP: I don't use a paper grocery list anymore! Why? Because, I kept forgetting the dang thing at home, leaving my stranded at the store with no game plan! Now, I put my ENTIRE list in my phone's note taking app. I include the meals we're having that week, what ingredients I have on hand, and each main section of the grocery store. I even have handy checklist bullets beside each item so that I can check things off as I put them in my cart. Don't fool yourselves though, grocery shopping is by far the most organized part of my life! Obviously you likely won't have every ingredient on hand to make every meal idea racing around your brain. That's ok. But so often, people think meal planning involves buying all or most of the ingredients for every meal. It doesn't have to be that way. I promise you can find ingredients to throw together a meal (or two or three or maybe even four) if you simply think outside the box. Get creative! You won't regret it and neither will your bank account. Now hurry, click HERE to download your FREE goodies! Enjoy! Alisha Don't forget to head on over to my socials and say hey! I can't wait to hear from you! |
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